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1st May - Do you pray or wave?
April 30th, 2008
The last Wednesday of April, a tiring stuffy morning after a few long nights piling up a thick concept book. While thinking to get a coffee to put smile back to the face, i received an email subjected “VOTE TOMORROW!” I wasn’t at all enthusiastic activist in voting since at 8 when my mother put me in a choice of either having spidy weapon or batman figures in a street stall (of course i want all). However this election does concern to me, a kind of nostalgic sentiment evoked from that i want some part from each candidate. Well, at the end no one is perfect.
This email, forwarded by my lovely colleague from his friend, has some interesting facts (i guess very likely from a labour party point of view) worth to share and remind us to care more what’s happening around us. Here he said:
Election day tomorrow!
Whoever gets to be Mayor of London after the 1st May voting, the victor will lead the city in the run up to the Olympics *. So who will you vote for? Many people don’t really want a mayor (a post inaugurated by Ken Livingstone), instead they want a mascot, in the shape of Boris Johnson. The terms “cuddly” and “hilarious” are often used to describe the blond bob-haired man off the telly, who became a household name on Have I Got News For You. The impulse (not reason) to vote for Boris in certain quarters is the same impulse that drove Italians to make hardcore porn star La Cicciolina an Italian MP (she also ran for Mayor of Milan), and for students to vote for a cat as President of the Oxford Union, so the possibly apocryphal story goes. It’s also why
– Another reason to vote for Boris is if you’re traditionally right wing, as Boris is. But how right wing do you want? Beneath the cuddly façade lurks an out of touch racist who gives Prince Philip a run for his money. He famously described black people as “piccaninnies” and Africans having “water melon smiles”. He also described Nelson Mandela’s
While we’re on the offensive here, so to speak, let’s not forget his remarks about another
The Evening Standard’s hate campaign against Livingstone has gone into overdrive in recent weeks. They had to eat humble pie when they ferociously took the anti-Ken stance over the congestion charge (now considered one of the cities main achievements. “The Congestion Charge didn’t happen by accident.
The Standard has had a field day recently over Ken’s race relations adviser Lee Jasper who had to resign over as yet unproven claims. But what of Boris’ race relations adviser? Well, he doesn’t have one yet in the wings. It’s not a priority on his campaign agenda and reveals just how seriously he takes the role (not to mention his lack of team planning and foresight.)
Decades ago, when it was less popular to do so, Livingstone spoke up against racism and homophobia. His longterm supporters over the years include Stephen Lawrence’s mother Doreen who says of Boris: “He will make a mistake and say, ‘Whoops, I’m sorry,’ and that is a luxury this city cannot afford.”
Once mooted as the joint Lib-Dem and Conservative mayoral candidate Greg Dyke is now voting for Ken, adding, “If you look at London today compared with a decade ago it’s a pretty vibrant, exciting place and I think he’s responsible for some of that.”
But never mind all that. Vote Boris for a laugh. A very short-lived one.
* Ken was key in helping to secure the Olympic Games. For those of you who didn’t want the Olympics – what? You don’t want the world’s greatest sporting event on your doorstep in your lifetime? You don’t want all eyes on
Image courtesy Times online